JP2011186857A - Host device and device control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the time required to recover the communication between a device and a host device when the device is temporarily disconnected or recognized again after reconnection, and also to eliminate the necessity for correcting an application even if a device configuration is changed. <P>SOLUTION: A device control method is configured so that: a host device acquires correspondence information in which a device identifier identifying a device and a pseudo-address showing a virtual address which is released to an application operating on the host device or a device higher than the host device are correlated to each other; the host device acquires a device identifier from a device connected to a port thereof; if the acquired device identifier is included in the correspondence information, the port which is the source of the acquired device identifier is connected to the pseudo-address corresponding to the device identifier in the correspondence information and to the host device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention reduces the time required for communication recovery when a device once disconnected from a host device or re-recognizes a reconnected device, and can be applied even when the device configuration is changed. The present invention relates to a host apparatus and a device control method that do not require correction of the above.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an OS (Operating System) is installed, and a device (hereinafter referred to as a “higher level device”) in which an application operating on the OS is installed includes a device that is a peripheral device by a communication cable or the like. It is connected.

  For example, when a personal computer is a host device, devices such as a display, a keyboard, and a printer are connected to the personal computer, and communication is performed between a word processor or a spreadsheet application and the device.

  In recent years, as a communication cable, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable having a hot plug function that can be inserted / removed even when the power of the host device is turned on has become widespread.

  Then, when communication with the device connected to the host device is disconnected and reconnected using the USB cable, the host device restarts a predetermined function provided in the host device in order to re-recognize the device. The recovery process was performed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 restarts a function (hereinafter referred to as “device control module”) that controls a device in a host device when communication between the host device and the device is disconnected and reconnected. Thus, a host device that restores communication with the device is disclosed.

  In addition, there is a host device that performs communication recovery processing by determining which device has been reconnected by re-communication with all connected devices by an application in the host device.

JP 2008-27379 A

  However, since the host device of Patent Document 1 needs to restart the device control module and perform initial processing in order to re-recognize a once disconnected device, it takes time to recover communication with the device. There was a problem that.

  In addition, when the application is performing re-recognition processing of the reconnected device, the application side needs to change whenever the configuration of the device connected to the higher-level device is changed. That is, the application program must be changed in order to reflect the change in the device configuration in the application.

  When an application is changed, a work load such as application development and reinstallation work is applied. Also, if there is a change in the configuration of the device for the user who uses the application, the application cannot be used until the change of the application is reflected, which is inconvenient.

  Furthermore, when the number of devices connected to the host device increases, the conventional host device needs to confirm the communication state with respect to all connected devices. Therefore, the number of devices increases as the number of devices increases. There was a problem that it took time for recognition processing.

  Therefore, when disconnecting from the host device or re-recognizing the reconnected device, the time required for recovery of communication is shortened and the device configuration is changed. A major issue is how to realize a device control method that does not require application modification.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, and it takes time to restore communication when a device once disconnected from a higher-level device or re-recognizes a reconnected device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device control method that makes it unnecessary to modify an application even when the device configuration is changed.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a host device that communicates with a device connected to a device connection port, the device identifier for identifying the device, and the host device or From the device connected to the port, a correspondence information acquisition unit that acquires correspondence information that associates a pseudo-destination that indicates a virtual destination that is disclosed to an application that operates on the host device of the host device, and the device connected to the port When the correspondence information includes the acquisition unit that acquires the device identifier and the device identifier acquired by the acquisition unit, the port that is the acquisition source of the device identifier is the device identifier in the correspondence information. And a connection unit for connecting to the pseudo-destination associated with the. As described above, when the device identifier stored in the correspondence information in advance is disconnected from the host device by connecting the device identifier and the pseudo destination, or when re-recognizing the reconnected device, communication is performed. In addition to shortening the time required for restoration, there is an effect that it is not necessary to modify the application even when the device configuration is changed.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned invention, a connection information creating unit that creates a connection state between the port connected by the connecting unit and the pseudo destination as connection information is provided. Thus, by storing the connection state, the higher-level apparatus can grasp the connection state, and it is possible to relay the communication between the device and the pseudo destination without erroneous transmission.

  In the present invention according to the present invention, the correspondence information includes only the device to which the port to be connected is not fixed. In this way, it is necessary to create connection information for devices that are fixedly connected when the host device is started up by creating connection information only for devices that can be inserted and removed, that is, dynamic devices. As a result, there is an effect that the activation time can be shortened.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned invention, the connection information creating unit deletes the connection information regarding the port when the connection between the port and the device is disconnected. In this way, by setting the connection state monitoring target for only the dynamic device, the host device does not need to update the device file for the device that cannot be inserted / removed, thereby reducing the time required for communication restoration. There is an effect that can be.

  Moreover, this invention is characterized by the said correspondence information acquisition part acquiring said correspondence information about the banknote unit which processes a banknote, and the coin unit which processes a coin in said invention. In this way, the banknote processing transmits a withdrawal instruction to the coin unit by applying it to a money handling machine in which an application for performing banknote processing and money processing is incorporated, or accepts a deposit result from the banknote unit by coin processing. It is possible to prevent such a malfunction.

  According to the present invention, for a host device that communicates with a device connected to a device connection port, a device identifier that identifies the device and an application that operates on the host device or the host device of the host device The host device acquires correspondence information that associates a pseudo-destination that indicates a virtual destination that is publicly displayed, the host device acquires a device identifier from the device connected to the port, and the acquired device identifier is the correspondence information. The host from which the device identifier was acquired is connected to the pseudo-destination associated with the device identifier in the correspondence information and the host device. In addition, when re-recognizing a reconnected device, the communication recovery time is reduced and the device configuration is changed. Even when Tsu advantageously possible to eliminate the need to modify the application.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a device control method according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configurations of the host device and the device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of entry information. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of device correspondence information. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device file. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of link information. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a dynamic device. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of updating link information. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a device activation processing procedure executed by the host apparatus. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a device monitoring processing procedure executed by the host apparatus.

  Exemplary embodiments of a host device and a device control method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, prior to detailed description of the embodiments, an outline of a device control method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As an example of the host device, a money handling machine in which a banknote unit and a coin unit are connected by a USB cable will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a device control method according to the present invention. In the following, first, an outline of a conventional device control method will be described using (A) of the figure, and an outline of a device control technique according to the present invention will be explained using (B) of the figure.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1A, in the conventional device control method, when communication is performed between an application and a device, the control unit determines the device node that is a communication node and the physical destination of the device node. I was managing.

  Here, an application that performs banknote processing (hereinafter referred to as “banknote application”) and a banknote unit that is one of the devices are connected via a device node 0 with a USB cable having a hot plug function. (See FIG. 1A-1).

  Further, it is assumed that an application for performing coin processing (hereinafter referred to as “coin application”) and a coin unit are connected via a device node 1 with a USB cable. In FIG. 1A-1, the connection state before the USB cable is replaced is indicated by a solid arrow.

  In this case, in the conventional device control method, when the banknote application transmits data to the banknote unit, it issues a transmission instruction to the device node 0, and when the coin application transmits data to the coin unit, the device node 1 A transmission instruction is issued.

  Here, the USB cable can be inserted and removed even when the host device is powered on. Then, it is assumed that the USB cable connected to the bill unit and the coin unit has been replaced (see FIG. 1A-2). In this case, as indicated by the dashed arrow, a coin unit may be connected to the device node 0 and a bill unit may be connected to the device node 1 after the USB cable is replaced.

  In this case, when the bill application issues a transmission instruction to the bill unit to the device node 0, since the coin unit is connected to the device node 0, the bill app is erroneously transmitted to the coin unit (FIG. 1A). -3))).

  In the conventional device control method, there is also a method in which an application issues a transmission instruction to the control unit while confirming the connection state between the device node and the device. For example, all device nodes to which the application is connected (here, device node 0 and device node 1) are inquired about the connection state, and transmission processing is started. However, since it is necessary to check the connection state for all connected devices, the re-recognition process becomes more complicated and takes longer as the number of devices increases.

  Therefore, in the device control method according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1B, a pseudo node is provided as a virtual destination fixed for each device, and the pseudo node is disclosed to the application. I made it. When the application side issues a transmission instruction to a desired device, the transmission instruction is issued to a virtual destination.

  In the device control method according to the present invention, when a device is connected, the device connected to the device node is recognized and then connected to the device corresponding to each pseudo node. It was decided to switch so that

  Specifically, as shown by the solid line arrow in FIG. 1 (B-1), the banknote unit and the device node 0 are connected in the connection state before the USB cable is replaced, and the coin unit And device node 1 are connected.

  Further, as indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. 1 (B-2), by associating the device node 0 to which the bill unit is connected with the pseudo node 0, the pseudo node 0 is connected to the bill unit via the device node 0. Connected to. Similarly, the pseudo node 1 is connected to the coin unit via the device node 1.

  Here, it is assumed that the USB cable connected to the banknote unit and the coin unit has been replaced (see FIG. 1B-3). In this case, as indicated by the dashed arrow, the coin unit is connected to the device node 0 and the bill unit is connected to the device node 1 after the replacement of the USB cable.

  Therefore, in the device control method according to the present invention, it is recognized that the device connected to each device node has been replaced by the replacement of the cable, and the pseudo node 0 is associated with the device node 1 to which the bill unit is connected. (See FIG. 1 (B-4)). Thereby, in the device control method according to the present invention, the pseudo node 0 is always connected to the banknote unit, and the pseudo node 1 is connected to the coin unit.

  Further, when issuing a transmission instruction to the banknote unit, the banknote application may always issue a transmission instruction to the pseudo node 0 that is a virtual destination of the banknote unit, and the physicality of the device node to which the banknote unit is connected. There is no need to recognize the destination.

  Therefore, in the device control method according to the present invention, even when another device is added and the configuration of the connected device is changed, the application side is a pseudo destination that is a virtual destination corresponding to each device. You only need to understand the node. In the device control method according to the present invention, it is ensured that a transmission instruction is transmitted to a desired device without changing an application.

  In the device control method according to the present invention, it is not necessary to confirm the connection state with respect to a connected or disconnected device and to confirm the connection state with respect to all devices connected on the application side. Since the process for recognizing the device node from the application becomes unnecessary, it is possible to shorten the processing time until the application transmits a transmission instruction to the device.

  The device control method according to the present invention is a bill unit or a coin unit having an insertion / extraction function by referring to information about a device from a kernel that is a core part of an OS, for example, a part close to a device node in a host device. It is possible to provide a highly reliable recognition process for the money handling machine.

  Below, the Example about the high-order apparatus to which the device control method demonstrated using FIG. 1 is applied is described in detail. First, the configurations of the host device 10 and the device 20 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the host device 10 and the device 20 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, only constituent elements necessary for explaining the characteristic points of the host device 10 and the device 20 are extracted and shown.

  First, the host device 10 includes an application 11, a device driver 12, a storage unit 13, and a control unit 14. The storage unit 13 stores entry information 13a, device correspondence information 13b, a device file 13c, and link information 13d. The control unit 14 includes a device activation unit 14a, a device file creation unit 14b, a device information A monitoring unit 14c, a device file update unit 14d, and a relay unit 14e are further provided.

  The application 11 is software designed for a specific purpose, and includes, for example, software that controls the banknote unit 20a and the coin unit 20b, software that displays a screen, and the like.

  Although the application 11 is provided in the host device 10, the application 11 may be provided in the host device of the host device 10 as a configuration including the host device of the host device 10. That is, a configuration in which the intermediate device is interposed between the host device 10, the application 11, and the banknote unit 20a or the coin unit 20b is also possible.

  The transmission / reception unit 11a is a processing unit that performs processing of transmitting each processing instruction such as a money counting instruction from the application 11 to the device 20 via the device driver 12 to the pseudo node 11b included in the application 11. It is assumed that the pseudo node 11b included in the application 11 matches the pseudo node defined in the device correspondence information 13b. The transmission / reception unit 11a also performs processing for receiving response information from the device 20.

  The device driver 12 is software that controls communication with the device 20 that is a peripheral device, and is performed via the device driver 12 when the application 11 controls each device.

  The storage unit 13 is a storage device such as a nonvolatile memory or a hard disk drive, and stores entry information 13a, device correspondence information 13b, a device file 13c, and link information 13d.

  The entry information 13a is a file name in which the device correspondence information 13b is stored, and a device 20 (hereinafter referred to as “dynamic device”) connected by a USB cable having a hot plug function that can be inserted and removed. The file name of the device file 13c associated with the device file 13c is stored in advance.

  The device correspondence information 13b is a pseudo node name that is a virtual destination of the device and an identifier that uniquely identifies a dynamic device corresponding to the pseudo node (hereinafter referred to as “device ID”). Which pseudo node and device ID are guaranteed to be connected is stored in advance in the device correspondence information 13b.

  The device file 13c is set for each device 20 connected to the higher level device 10 and is detailed information required when the higher level device 10 controls the device 20. The detailed description of the device file 13c will be described later.

  The link information 13d is a device ID and a pseudo node corresponding to the device file name. Specifically, the link information 13d is information indicating the association between the device file name obtained by associating the device ID stored in the device correspondence information 13b with the device ID acquired from the device 20, and the pseudo node. is there.

  The control unit 14 is a control unit that performs overall control of the host device 10. The device activation unit 14a is a processing unit that performs processing for recognizing the connected device 20 based on the entry information 13a and the device correspondence information 13b.

  The device activation unit 14a also performs a process of instructing the device file creation unit 14b to create the device file 13c so as to create the device file 13c of the dynamic device.

  The device monitoring unit 14c is a processing unit that performs processing to monitor whether or not the device 20 is disconnected or connected while the power of the host device 10 is turned on. Specifically, when the device monitoring unit 14c acquires a change in the connection state of the device 20 via the device driver 12, the device monitoring unit 14c determines that any one of the devices 20 is disconnected or connected.

  In addition, when the device monitoring unit 14c determines that the device 20 is disconnected or connected, the device monitoring unit 14c also performs processing for instructing the device file update unit 14d to update the device file 13c.

  Upon receiving from the device monitoring unit 14c that the device 20 has been disconnected or connected, the device file update unit 14d updates the device file 13c and link information 13d of the device 20 whose connection state has changed.

  The relay unit 14e is a processing unit that performs processing of transmitting each processing instruction for the pseudo node received from the transmission / reception unit 11a to the device 20 corresponding to the pseudo node via the device driver 12 based on the link information 13d.

  Further, the relay unit 14e also performs a process of passing response information received from the device 20 via the device driver 12 to the pseudo node corresponding to the device 20 based on the link information 13d.

  Next, the configuration of the device 20 will be described. The device 20 is a peripheral device connected to the host device 10, and the device 20 according to the present embodiment includes a bill unit 20a and a coin unit 20b.

  The banknote unit 20a is a peripheral device that performs processing related to banknotes such as throwing out predetermined banknotes according to processing instructions received from the application 11, counting the inserted banknotes, and transmitting the counted value to the application 11 as response information. is there.

  The coin unit 20b is a peripheral device that performs processing related to coins, such as throwing out predetermined coins according to processing instructions received from the application 11, counting the inserted coins, and transmitting the counted value to the application 11 as response information. is there.

  Next, an example of entry information 13a, device correspondence information 13b, device file 13c, and link information 13d stored in the storage unit 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the entry information 13a, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the device correspondence information 13b, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the device file 13c, and FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the link information 13d.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, one record of the entry information 13a includes a “device file name” item of a dynamic device. In the entry information 13a, a device file name associated with the device 20 (the banknote unit 20a and the coin unit 20b) is stored in advance. Here, since the dynamic devices are the bill unit 20a and the coin unit 20b, two records of “DEV — 0” and “DEV — 1” are stored in advance in random order as the “device file name” in the entry information 13a. I will let you.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, one record of the device correspondence information 13 b includes a “pseudo node” item and a “device ID” item associated with the pseudo node. The device correspondence information 13b stores in advance which pseudo node and device ID are guaranteed to be connected. Here, the device ID “dID_banknote” is associated with “fix_banknote”, and the device ID “dID_coin” is associated with “fix_coin”.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the device file 13 c includes a “device file name” item, a “major number” item, and a “minor number” item. Note that one line shown in the figure is configured as one file.

  The “major number” item is a number identified by the device type and corresponding to the type of the device driver 12. The “minor number” item is a number for identifying devices having the same major number.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, one record of the link information 13d includes a “device file name” item, a “device ID” item associated with the device file name, and the device correspondence information 13b. And a “pseudo node” item connected to the ID.

  Specifically, how the device file 13c and link information 13d are created will be described below. First, when the host apparatus 10 is turned on, the device activation unit 14a has two devices connected to the USB cable based on the entry information 13a and the device correspondence information 13b, here, the banknote unit 20a and the coins. Recognize unit 20b. The device activation unit 14a searches the device information using the device file name (here, DEV_0) of the entry information 13a as a key, and searches for any device (the banknote unit 20a or A device ID (in this case, dID_banknote) that uniquely identifies the coin unit 20b) is acquired.

  Then, when recognizing the banknote unit 20a, the device file creation unit 14b creates a device file 13c whose device file name is “DEV — 0” (see the first line in FIG. 5).

  Here, the type of the driver connected by the USB cable, that is, the device file 13c when the major number is “2” and the connected minor number is “0” is shown.

  Furthermore, the device file creation unit 14b registers, in the link information 13d, the device file name “DEV_0” associated with the bill unit 20a having the device ID “dID_banknote” together with the device ID (first line in FIG. 6). reference). Note that the “device ID” item of the link information 13d may not be present, and information including a “device file name” item and a “device ID” item associated with the device file name may be provided separately.

  Further, the device file creation unit 14b acquires a pseudo node associated with the device ID registered in advance in the device correspondence information 13b using the device ID (dID_banknote) acquired by the device activation unit 14a as a key.

  At the same time, the device file creation unit 14b registers in the link information 13d as information linked to the pseudo node “fix_banknote” connected to the device ID “dID_banknote” based on the device correspondence information 13b (FIG. (Refer to the first line of 6).

  By doing in this way, in the relay part 14e, transmission / reception of information with the banknote unit 20a and a pseudo node can be performed based on device ID, the device file 13c, and a pseudo node.

  The device activation unit 14a recognizes the device 20 based on the entry information 13a, and the transmission / reception unit 11a of the application 11 sends each processing instruction to the pseudo node 11b that matches the pseudo node registered in the link information 13d. I decided to send it.

  Next, the dynamic device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a dynamic device, and FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of updating link information 13d.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7A, the host device 10 is connected to a device (hereinafter referred to as “static device”), such as a display or a keyboard, that is connected with a cable that is not inserted or removed when the power is turned on. Is described) is connected.

  Further, it is assumed that a dynamic device connected by a cable having a hot plug function, for example, a USB cable, is connected to the host device 10 like the banknote unit 20a and the coin unit 20b.

  Here, when the host apparatus 10 is turned on, for the static device, the control unit 14 recognizes the connected device based on the device file created in advance ((1) in FIG. 7). reference).

  On the other hand, for the dynamic device, when the host apparatus 10 is turned on, the device file creation unit 14b, as described above, is based on the entry information 13a, the device correspondence information 13b, and the information from the device 20. A device file 13c and link information 13d are newly created (see (2) in FIG. 7).

  Here, the link information 13d created by the device file creation unit 14b is shown in FIG. If the device file name corresponding to the device ID “dID_banknote” is “DEV_0”, it indicates that the device file 13c having the device file name “DEV_0” is created in association with the banknote unit 20a.

  Then, the device activation unit 14a recognizes the device 20 to be connected based on the device file 13c created by the device file creation unit 14b and the link information 13d (see (3) in FIG. 7). Here, the case where the USB cables of the banknote unit 20a and the coin unit 20b are replaced as shown in FIG. 7B will be described (see (4) of FIG. 7).

  The device monitoring unit 14c determines that the bill unit 20a and the coin unit 20b are reconnected, and the device file update unit 14d updates the device file 13c and the link information 13d corresponding to the bill unit 20a and the coin unit 20b (FIG. 7 (5)).

  Here, the link information 13d updated by the device file update unit 14d is shown in FIG. If the device file name corresponding to the device ID “dID_coin” is “DEV_0”, it indicates that the device file 13c having the device file name “DEV_0” is updated in association with the coin unit 20b.

  Then, the device monitoring unit 14c re-recognizes the reconnected device 20 based on the device file 13c updated by the device file update unit 14d and the link information 13d (see (6) in FIG. 7).

  As described above, with respect to a static device, the activation time of the host device 10 can be shortened by recognizing the device without creating a new device file. Further, the device monitoring unit 14c only needs to monitor the pseudo node stored in the link information 13d, that is, the dynamic device. Further, when there is a change in the configuration of the device 20, the change content may be stored in the entry information 13a and the device correspondence information 13b in the storage unit 13.

  As a result, when disconnecting from the host device 10 or re-recognizing the reconnected device 20, the time required for communication restoration is shortened and the configuration of the device 20 is changed. Even application modifications can be made unnecessary.

  Next, the processing procedure executed by the higher-level device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 9, the device activation processing procedure is described, and in FIG. 10, the device monitoring processing procedure is described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a device activation processing procedure executed by the host apparatus. As shown in the figure, when the host device 10 is powered on, the control unit 14 deletes the link information 13d and performs initialization (step S101).

  Then, the device activation unit 14a reads the first record of the entry information 13a (step S102), acquires a device ID from the device file name read in step S102, and device correspondence information 13b corresponding to the acquired device ID. Is acquired (step S103).

  Subsequently, the device file creation unit 14b creates a device file 13c corresponding to the device ID of the device correspondence information 13b acquired in step S103 (step S104), and adds link information 13d of the device ID (step S105). ).

  The device activation unit 14a reads the next record of the entry information 13a (step S106), and determines whether there is a next record of the entry information 13a (step S107).

  If the device activation unit 14a determines that the next entry information 13a is present (step S107, No), the processing from step S103 to step S106 is repeated until there is no more entry information 13a. On the other hand, if it is determined that the next entry information 13a is not present (step S107, Yes), the process ends. Next, the device monitoring processing procedure will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a device monitoring processing procedure executed by the higher-level device 10. As shown in the figure, when the device monitoring unit 14c monitors whether the device 20 is disconnected or connected while the power of the host device 10 is turned on and the device 20 is disconnected or connected, It is determined whether or not 20 has been disconnected (step S201).

  When it is determined that the device 20 has been disconnected (step S201, Yes), the device monitoring unit 14c acquires the device ID that has been disconnected by the information transmission from the control unit 14 (step S202).

  Then, the device file update unit 14d deletes the link information 13d of the device ID acquired in step S202 (step S203) and deletes the device file 13c of the device ID (step S204). Then, the process proceeds to step S201, and the device monitoring unit 14c continues to monitor the connection state of the device 20.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S201 that the device 20 is not disconnected (No in step S201), the device monitoring unit 14c determines whether any device 20 is connected (step S205).

  If it is determined that the device 20 is connected (step S205, Yes), the device monitoring unit 14c acquires the connected device ID by information transmission from the control unit 14 (step S206). Then, the device file update unit 14d acquires the pseudo node corresponding to the device ID acquired in step S206 from the device correspondence information 13b (step S207).

  Thereafter, the device file update unit 14d creates a device file 13c corresponding to the device ID of the acquired device correspondence information 13b (step S208), and adds link information 13d of the device ID (step S209). Then, the process proceeds to step S201, and the device monitoring unit 14c continues to monitor the connection state of the device 20.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S205 that the device 20 is not connected (No in step S205), the process proceeds to step S201, and the device monitoring unit 14c continues to monitor the connection state of the device 20.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the host device 10 is turned on, the static device recognizes a connected device based on a previously created device file. As for the dynamic device, it recognizes the dynamic device connected based on the entry information 13a and the device correspondence information 13b triggered by the information transmission from the control unit 14, and the device file 13c corresponding to the dynamic device and The link information 13d is created. When the disconnection information of the device 20 is received, the connection information is deleted based on the link information 13d. That is, the device file 13c and the link information 13d are updated based on the connection state of the device 20. Further, the relay process between the application 11 and the device 20 is relayed from the device file 13c corresponding to the device 20 via the device driver 12 based on the link information 13d.

  Therefore, when the device control method according to the present invention is disconnected from the host device or re-recognizes the reconnected device, the communication recovery time is reduced and the device configuration is changed. Even in such a case, it is not necessary to modify the application.

  The host device described in the claims of the present invention is the host device 10, the correspondence information is the entry information 13a and the device correspondence information 13b, the correspondence information acquisition unit is the device activation unit 14a, the connection unit is the device file creation unit 14b, and the connection information. Is an example of the device file 13c and the link information 13d, and the connection information creation unit is an example of the device file creation unit 14b and the device file update unit 14d.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the device 20 is applied to the bill unit and the coin unit has been described. However, the same applies to the case where three or more peripheral devices belonging to the same major number are targeted. be able to.

  In the above-described embodiment, the device 20 connected to the higher-level device 10 is controlled. However, a configuration in which a plurality of higher-level devices 10 and a management device that manages the higher-level devices 10 are connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) may be employed.

  In this case, by transmitting the link information 13d stored in each host device 10 to the management device, the state of the devices 20 connected to each host device 10 can be collectively displayed and monitored by the management device. .

  As described above, when the host device according to the present invention is disconnected from the host device or re-recognizes the reconnected device, the time required for recovery of communication is shortened and the device configuration is changed. This is useful when there is no need to modify the application even if there is a problem.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Host apparatus 11 Application 11a Transmission / reception part 11b Pseudo node 12 Device driver 13 Storage part 13a Entry information 13b Device correspondence information 13c Device file 13d Link information 14 Control part 14a Device starting part 14b Device file creation part 14c Device monitoring part 14d Device file update Part 14e relay part 20 device 20a banknote unit 20b coin unit

Claims (6)

A host device that communicates with a device connected to a device connection port,
Correspondence that obtains correspondence information in which a device identifier that identifies the device is associated with a pseudo-destination that indicates a virtual destination that is disclosed to an application that operates on the host device or a host device of the host device An information acquisition unit;
An acquisition unit for acquiring the device identifier from the device connected to the port;
When the device identifier acquired by the acquisition unit is included in the correspondence information, the port from which the device identifier is acquired is assigned to the pseudo destination associated with the device identifier in the correspondence information. A host device comprising: a connecting portion for connection. The host apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a connection information creation unit that creates a connection state between the port connected by the connection unit and the pseudo destination as connection information. The correspondence information is
3. The host apparatus according to claim 1, wherein only the device to which the port to be connected is not fixed is included. The connection information creation unit
4. The host apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the connection between the port and the device is disconnected, the connection information regarding the port is deleted. The correspondence information acquisition unit
The upper apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the correspondence information about a banknote unit that processes banknotes and a coin unit that processes coins is acquired. A device control method applied to a host device that communicates with a device connected to a device connection port,
Correspondence information in which a higher-level device associates a device identifier that identifies the device with a pseudo-destination that indicates a virtual destination that is disclosed to an application that operates on the higher-level device or on the higher-level device. A corresponding information acquisition process to be acquired;
An acquisition step in which a host device acquires the device identifier from the device connected to the port;
When the device identifier acquired by the acquisition unit by the acquisition unit is included in the correspondence information, the port that is the acquisition source of the device identifier is associated with the device identifier in the correspondence information. A device control method comprising a connection step of connecting to a pseudo destination.

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